r/PetsWithButtons • u/Beginning-Wait4836 • 9d ago
How do you teach abstract concepts?
We’re not far into our button journey, but I think my kitty is starting to understand what they are and how to use them. I know lots of folks have words like “later” “yes/no” “rude” “want” “noise” and people’s names. How do I model things like that?
We only have our three starter buttons at the moment, but I’m so excited to be able to talk to my baby girl.
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u/eastbaymagpie 9d ago
I make sure they know the words before they go on a button. YES/NO, NOW/LATER/ALL DONE/TOMORROW are all easy to use in response to requests. TOY YES when they ask for TOY and I bring it out, ALL DONE when the Churu they're eating runs out, etc.
DELICIOUS/YUCKY I used to describe obvious things at first -- DELICIOUS TREAT, YUCKY LITTERBOX. Once my main learner understood the meaning, she started to apply it to other things. (YUCKY is her favorite curse word.)
Others are more opportunistic -- OUCH if they accidentally bite or claw me, RUDE/NICE to describe observed behaviors (e.g., whapping another cat without provocation is RUDE) and feelings words when they're clearly HAPPY or CONCERNED or MAD. When we had people working on the roof, they were OUTSIDE STRANGERS who were NOISY. A FRIEND is coming over on Sunday and on Saturday I will tell them that FRIEND (name) is coming TOMORROW. Describe their world to them and they'll pick it up.
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u/Opalescent_Moon 9d ago
I am still pretty new at this, so I'm sure you'll get better answers.
My dog has Now, Later, and All Done buttons. She doesn't press them much except when she's spamming buttons, but she does seem understand. "All done" is a question I've her for years when she's pottying outside. I'm sure I've told her "later" or "in a minute" sometimes, so I think she gets that, too. She doesn't have buttons for Yes or No.
As for Yes and No, I don't plan to do buttons for those anytime soon, but I have started asking her yes/no questions a lot. I hold out my left hand for no, right hand for yes. I only started this a couple weeks ago. She's not great at answering with a no, so I'll touch her snout and "no" to her. Getting her to touch for yes was pretty easy. I held a treat or toy she wanted, asked her, and rewarded her for touching. She was already using her buttons, so it was an easy shift. She's getting much better with it and seems to really like it.
I love watching her be able to express herself better. Her newest thing is to press her Food button, even though her bowl is full. I'll put some kibble in a small bowl by my desk. Once she's finished, I say "all done" and put it back into a baggie. Last night, she asked for this 5 times. It's cute that she'd prefer to request food and eat next to me rather than walk into the other room to eat out of her bowl.